Everything Apple Announced at Today's 'Gather Round' Event in 6 Minutes

[eddjedi]

Anyone else in the UK noticed that apparently $999 is now £999? Apple have been slowly eroding away the $-£ difference over the last few years, now it's gone completely. A straight currency conversion right now of $999 is £765, so even factoring in higher tariffs etc the XS should be more like £849.

Also gutted about the lack of USB-C, it makes no sense for customers to embrace it on Macs in 2016 and still be using ye olde Lightning in 2018.

 

[arkitect]

Anyone else in the UK noticed that apparently $999 is now £999? Apple have been slowly eroding away the $-£ difference over the last few years, now it's gone completely. A straight currency conversion right now of $999 is £765, so even factoring in higher tariffs etc the XS should be more like £849.

Also gutted about the lack of USB-C, it makes no sense for customers to embrace it on Macs in 2016 and still be using ye olde Lightning in 2018.

Apple's probably "future proofing" their income… though I'd hate to see what the price is going to be once USD and GBP hit parity next year.

 

[Omega Mac]

A better comparison:

No it's not. This is a comparison of not the screen but the unit size.

You get a bit more screen in a SMALLER unit size. Neater package. No compromise on the screen.
[doublepost=1536835358][/doublepost]

That new A12 Neural Engine though...5 TRILLION operations/sec up from 600B?

We are going to see why Apple is putting so much effort into powerful processing very soon.

Indeed that's some chip. Someone posted that they watched Apple shares in tandem live but did anyone watch Intel's?

Here is a piece from April this year:

Apple's homegrown chip could wipe out up to $4 billion of Intel revenue (AAPL, INTC)

https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/intel-stock-price-apple-chip-could-wipe-out-3-to-4-billion-in-sales-2018-4-1020358616

 

[fps]

Anyone else in the UK noticed that apparently $999 is now £999? Apple have been slowly eroding away the $-£ difference over the last few years, now it's gone completely. A straight currency conversion right now of $999 is £765, so even factoring in higher tariffs etc the XS should be more like £849.

Also gutted about the lack of USB-C, it makes no sense for customers to embrace it on Macs in 2016 and still be using ye olde Lightning in 2018.

US$ pricing is without tax which is applied depending on the State you buy it in.
UK£ prices includes 20% tax so you're £999 device is £832.50 + 20% VAT = £999

All consumer prices in the UK will show the retail price with the VAT added to it.

US: iPhone Xs 256GB = $1,149
UK: iPhone Xs 256GB = £1,149 which is £957.50 + VAT @ 20% £191.50

£957.50 = $1,247.50

So Apple charges an extra ~ $100 for UK customer which is naughty for sure.
As for the 20% VAT added for UK customers there's nothing Apple can do/change about it.

I'm sure they build the extra $100 into the tax free price to compensate for currency exchange variation between £ and $... And a sure way to make a few extra squids on the back of the UK customers :-(

 

[TroyBoy30]

They do have 120Hz displays. Even the LCD one.

no they do not

 

[joneill55]

<<Various pricing rumors have suggested that it could be available for anywhere from $799 to $1,200, but the most reliable source, Bloomberg, believes it will cost under $1,000. >>

Ummm, just like they predictated the iPhone X replacement at $899.....wrong! Apple does not leave gross margin on the table....period. Apple tax is always unavoidable!

$1099 entry for 8/128 $1299 for 8/256 gig.

 

[samwight]

I'm worried I'll miss the finger print security, though. I haven't met anyone, yet, that likes the face ID stuff.

You haven't met me. FaceID is sublime -- a huge improvement over finger print...
[doublepost=1536854447][/doublepost]

Apple’s keynotes over a decade ago were special and were differentiators. Now with everybody copying and doing keynotes, Apple needs to cut down the pomp and circumstance and come up with a “new” way,

Nah. This kind of criticism is as old as the keynotes. The good ol' days were always better. As for me, I still got a few tingles during the keynote, like when they brought out the president of the cardiology something to give his nod to the ECG.
[doublepost=1536854679][/doublepost]

I still like the Apple ecosystem but I don’t like it enough to buy a $1,000 phone or a three year old phone that is still expensive.

So, buy a new phone for 750...
[doublepost=1536854843][/doublepost]

No Mac announcements, I guess Apple is just a telephone handset company now.

Or -- and this may be a radical idea -- this was just a telephone handset (and watch) keynote...
[doublepost=1536855311][/doublepost]

I expected Apple would have used the year in between phone releases to engineer the notch away.
My iPhone 8 works great-- it's a solid, work-horse phone and nothing I've seen today tempts me to consider replacing it.

That's odd. You think a phone with massive bezels is great, but you can't tolerate a little notch. How is it worse than a black bar across the top? Or what's wrong with using as much surface as you can. Me? I've grown to like the notch.
[doublepost=1536855495][/doublepost]

I hope Apple enjoys that trillion dollar company feeling while it lasts...

1.1 T

Judging by the market's response today, it might last for a while yet...
[doublepost=1536855708][/doublepost]

$1100 + CA tax at 9.5% + $299 for Apple care + a case $49 = $1550

No one should pay that much for a phone, I can buy a laptop or a 75” TV for that money.

No one should pay 299 for Apple care. And 1200 Cdn is less than you pay to *use* the phone for 3 years.
[doublepost=1536856024][/doublepost]

Or, it COULD be because he remembers the Jobs era where keynotes like this were events where Apple floored us with groundbreaking, society-shifting devices and features... not just boring updates to old devices.

A few were, but most were just like this one, and got similar complaints about keynotes past...
[doublepost=1536856676][/doublepost]

No it's not. This is a comparison of not the screen but the unit size.

You get a bit more screen in a SMALLER unit size. Neater package. No compromise on the screen.

That's incorrect. The X has a longer diagonal, but less area, because of the narrower width, and that's including the area of the notch.

The narrower width defines the size of most elements and the text and photos in portrait mode. In landscape, most photos are smaller because of the height constraint. I noticed a definite decrease in size going from a 7-plus to X, and that's why I look forward to the XS Max.

 

[baryon]

So wait, their smallest phone is now closer to the iPhone 8 Plus in size than the already huge iPhone 8? This is getting ridiculous, why aren't they making an SE sized phone anymore?

 

[Tozovac]

Nah. This kind of criticism is as old as the keynotes. The good ol' days were always better. As for me, I still got a few tingles during the keynote, like when they brought out the president of the cardiology something to give his nod to the ECG.

For something breathtakingly new, can't beat an Apple keynote.

The good ol' days were not only better, but back then not everyone's stores, keynotes, and products looked like Apple products. Only Apple looked and acted like Apple. Now Microsoft stores and keynotes look like Apple stores and keynotes, and now with everyone's touch-screen phone looking similar and laptops looking like unibody Macs, it's awful hard for an Apple keynote to standout without some wildly breathtaking new innovation. A meh keynote like yesterday's is almost a parody of Apple's own weighty keynotes.

Unlike iOS7 where change was made for the sake of change, a change in Apple's image wouldn't hurt.

(Also a change away from oversized phablets would be nice too, but one step at a time...)

 

[DevNull0]

Amen. Now only if Google material design on android wasn’t still worse than the unnecessarily reinvented UIx of iOS 7-11, the move would be easier to stomach. Now the choices feel like crap or crap.

That's exactly how I feel. I still choose Apple because the way Google vacuums up all possible personal data creeps me out way too much. But it definitely a choice of the least crappy among crappy options. I certainly no longer enjoy the experience of seeing and getting a new iPhone.

Apple’s keynotes over a decade ago were special and were differentiators. Now with everybody copying and doing keynotes, Apple needs to cut down the pomp and circumstance and come up with a “new” way, maybe just rolling out good products quietly and letting them speak for themselves, almost, instead parading out meh updates with fireworks.

Agreed. It doesn't help that the current management team at Apple is just so amazingly bad at these keynotes. They're not needed at all, they're something Apple currently sucks at, and they don't do anything good for Apple.

Of course if they did just roll products out quietly, I'm not sure anyone would notice the change.

 

[Omega Mac]

Yes we forget what Apple has done under Jobs because it's harder to see since it has now rippled out through the global system of commerce and marketing but it changed everything.

Everyone follows the template now but until that point no one had siezed the moment.

It's not just the iPhone companies want to mimic it's the entire business model, hook line and sinker - of course for good reason. My experience is that the majority in business are merely performing in sync, looking over their shoulder watching what others and doing and trying a bit of this and that - few push out but when they do they have a chance to become an Apple.

The majority of people are lead very much by their peer group so it makes sense this translates in the business world.

Think fashion industry, it wouldn't exist if this wasn't the case.

Apple tapped into this for computers the way no one else had at that point and continue to build on the success. Apple looked to fashion industry as such as much as computer industry saw the opening and jumped right in. It's a clever synergy.

Valuing great design or at least having a process that strives to achieve the best design and incorporate that into what you do for you customer pays off nor does it come cheap but actually require more than money, it requires a person who understands the inherent and intrinsic values at play and Steve Jobs was this guy it seems, the best most can do is mimic Apple - so they still don't get it but they get something that looks like it, but you know most are also risk averse too so it's taken companies a decade to go where Apple pushed. It's inevitable. You can't fault Apple for that. You competition eventually plagiarises you en mass. That being said say plagiarism is the greatest compliment.

+ You guys are just missing Craig.

On balance, I actually think Tim is better than he is allowing himself to be on stage. I think he's too cautious to put too much of his personality into the presentation and in some ways they're relying on the extravagant video presentations to add humour and lighten the mood, they've so much money at this point to throw at anything.

I'd suggest a shot or two of whiskey, the shareholders be dammed! No joke.

 

[daved2424]

Dear Apple

These devices are far too big and far too expensive. I am a big Apple user, but I am seriously considering what to do the next time I upgrade my phone. I don’t want device this big in my pocket and I cannot justify paying this much for a device that does not offer me enough justification to upgrade from my 6s.

I want to stay with Apple, but honestly are those days coming to an end?

 

[Tozovac]

Valuing great design or at least having a process that strives to achieve the best design and incorporate that into what you do for you customer pays off nor does it come cheap but actually require more than money, it requires a person who understands the inherent and intrinsic values at play and Steve Jobs was this guy it seems, the best most can do is mimic Apple - so they still don't get it but they get something that looks like it, but you know most are also risk averse too so it's taken companies a decade to go where Apple pushed. It's inevitable. You can't fault Apple for that. You competition eventually plagiarises you en mass. That being said say plagiarism is the greatest compliment.

To me, the big issue is that fashion focus has overtaken the focus on function. Too much focus on sleekness, smoothness, visual uniformity and simpleness.....like the aging actress who, instead of growing naturally, relies upon more plastic surgery over time, over-focusing on appearance instead of substance. As a result, we've lost ports and jacks and buttons and UIx cues in software that used to make Apple products super easy & intuitive to use. We've lost the opportunity to install larger batteries or storage or memory. Now actionable items on the screen are either not-obvious text-only elements or they're hidden behind hamburger icons for "less clutter".....text is less noticeable, less distinct...light grey or light blue on white background, which is really hard to read at times even indoors, but it's "more elegant" and "allows for uniformity across apps," as if we the customers needed that. All the transparency features are just distracting and for show-off eye-candy, not really functional. Apple's focus on form/fashion has turned into a caricature of their former self, where very powerful and flexible and fun-to-use technology just happened to look good. Now it's "must look great" first and foremost, while shoe-horning in the function aspect.

That's no longer value for my dollar. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Dear Apple

These devices are far too big and far too expensive. I am a big Apple user, but I am seriously considering what to do the next time I upgrade my phone. I don’t want device this big in my pocket and I cannot justify paying this much for a device that does not offer me enough justification to upgrade from my 6s.

I want to stay with Apple, but honestly are those days coming to an end?

Take comfort in that you're not alone. As Apple has moved away from being the underdog and darling, room is opening for a new underdog who may hopefully serve better people like me & you. As Apple's software (iOS, OSX) becomes less "it just works" as they keep adding more functionality while reducing the ease of interfacing (less buttons, less jacks/ports, less obvious/intuitive UIx cues, but more hidden swipes/gestures) while sticking to one common theme (large phones, for example), their products are morphing into being just another commodity like Microsoft.

 

[ackmondual]

I too was more impressed by the Apple Watch portion. However, I'm probably biased since I currently do NOT own any smartwatches (still rocking a $50 Citizen dumb watch, and some basic Seiko model before that ).

Iphone talks were kind of meh, but here, I'll cite a different bias... while the new features of high end phones are nice, I just don't want to pay $700 to $1100 for them. My camera on my LG G4 is having issues. I'm either going to replace the whole phone (it costs $220 used), find some DIY videos for replacing the camera on my own, or see if I can update to a later model that's still below $300.


On a related note, I'm in the market for a new car. While some of the extras would be nice... leather seats, nice color, better sound system, etc.... I just want something that'll take me from point A to point B, safely, with enough ports to charge my stuff, and some advanced safety features (e.g. lane departure warning, backup cam, etc.)

 

[samwight]

Dear Apple

These devices are far too big and far too expensive. I am a big Apple user, but I am seriously considering what to do the next time I upgrade my phone. I don’t want device this big in my pocket and I cannot justify paying this much for a device that does not offer me enough justification to upgrade from my 6s.

Dear daved,

The Xs is only a little larger than the 6s (17% volume, a few per cent in each dimension). But it has a way bigger display and it's OLED. In spite of your tautology (can't justify something that does not offer justification), the bigger OLED screen does offer justification for the higher price.

 

[Tozovac]

Dear daved,

The Xs is only a little larger than the 6s (17% volume, a few per cent in each dimension). But it has a way bigger display and it's OLED. In spite of your tautology (can't justify something that does not offer justification), the bigger OLED screen does offer justification for the higher price.

Who's to say that perhaps the 6s itself seems too large after living with it for a while, and @daved might like to move back towards an SE or 5s-sized phone? I tried a 6s for a week this summer and went back to my 5s, the 6s was just too large in my pocket. There's more to a phone than size to some, but not Apple anymore.

 

[samwight]

Who's to say that perhaps the 6s itself seems too large after living with it for a while, and @daved might like to move back towards an SE or 5s-sized phone?

Maybe, but the 6S is a few years old, and he's using it and not an SE or 5s, and he's a "big Apple user". If the 6S is already "far too big", why is he using it? Anyway, I'm not sure abandoning Apple is gonna solve his problem. Good luck finding a similarly capable phone that's much smaller.